Go Jump Off A Bridge

Honey, maybe I just might! And why stop there? Why not a plane as well?

I spent a lot of time yesterday looking into different options for a vacation to New Zealand. Yeah, I know it's rather sudden. It's not someplace I've mentioned here much (unlike Italy *sigh*). But all my previous research has pointed to NZ as a backpacker-friendly locale. There's a lot of young people who travel there so it should be easy enough to make friends while traveling alone.

Yes, undoubtably I'll need to go it on my own as my friends have various issues that aren't likely to be resolved before I completely implode. So, in order to relieve my own inner anxiety and escape the doldrums that is my every day life, I'd like to plan a solo adventure.

Since it'll be my first time traveling alone, I figured why not go big? NZ is the home of all extreme sports and I couldn't possibly go any bigger than that. So, I've been skimming through websites about various tour companies, transportation and lodging options and of course extreme fun by means of skydiving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, hiking and even zorbing.

I'm debating whether to do the true backpacker thing and plan my own trip and bounce from hostel to hostel while enjoying the sights and activities or hooking up with a tour group. The good thing about going to NZ is that most of the tours are focused on active things so it's likely that the crowd will be younger and not your typical tour group. Still it'd be nice to just bum around on my own a bit too.

Anyone ever been to New Zealand? Any tips?